Thank you to those of you who reviewed! And to those who read and did not—shame on you! It really only takes a second! Anyway, a lot of you are excited that L/J and S/R are friends now, but I want to remind you that it was a small step in the right direction. They take a bigger one in this chapter and in chapter six, but they won't become couples for a while longer. Feel free to ask any questions as they come up and I'll do my best to answer them as well as I can. However, if you ask me anything that relates to the plot I'm going to answer like JKR. I'll become very vague, but I'll give you a little tip I've already dropped two major clues. Everything has a purpose. Nothing is a coincidence. I'll leave you with those words and a list of answers or comments to reviews from you. Enjoy and remember to review!
Wizemunkee066- The tasks of Challenge are the same just in a slightly different order (the first one was the same in both versions) and better written in my opinion. I'm glad you're enjoying this version and thanks for saying you'll review every chapter! It boosts me to write more. All the ly's made me laugh.
Liadan Sevenwaters- The first task of Challenge in the old version was the same as the new version. I just added more detail. I like your name by the way. Is that you're real name or an alias/penname for the site?
OTHCharmedHPFreak- I burst out laughing when I read your review! Made me laugh again when I went back to see which ones needed replying.
Kate- I will answer any and all questions as best I can. I welcome them! But like I said above that if it pertains to part of the plot in anyway I'll become very vague. Angels are different from white lighters because they don't have charges. White lighters look out for specially gifted witches and wizards in case someone were to ever try and hurt them or take their power. Angels in my mind are more like muses. They can inspire and give solitude to witches and wizards and even Muggles if an event calls for it. Instead of orbing like white lighters or apparating like wizards, they can shimmer (it's just transportation from one place to another in a whirl of white shimmer particles). They share some of the same powers that white lighters do like apportation (being able to pass through solid objects, even people), intangibility (able to call for an object and have it appear in their hand), cloaking (a form of supernatural protection), sensing (ability to detect distress), and healing touch (ability to heal wounds). Alyssa also inherited the gift of Sight from an aunt. This gift of Seeing is very important so I can't say much more here, sorry. But now you're probably wondering why Alyssa isn't more subdued or calm. Simple response: Alyssa is a rebel because of her home life. But she can be a very calm person when she wants to be, which isn't often. And you'll soon see that she can inspire people as well. Hopefully, that helped. If you have any more questions feel free to drop them in a review!
Jenna- I'm glad you're going to continue to read and thanks for the complement. You didn't discourage me. I just wanted to make you aware that my plot hasn't really come into play yet. Big hints will be dropped but readers may not pick up on them till later when I start bringing things more into the open. That's how it'll work for a while because Challenge is more about getting Lily and James together with my plot weaving in here and there. Toward the end will be the real beginning bang. Like I said though I'm glad you decided to continue reading and I hope you continue to leave reviews!
Milocachica- I didn't even notice that slip up with the riddle about the heroine! Thank you!
This chapter contains mild but brief sexual content.
Challenge
Chapter 5: The Advantage of Guy Maneuvers
James left the locker room after changing into his red and gold Quidditch robes and stepped out onto the pitch carrying his broomstick, a Nimbus One Hundred. It was a seventeenth birthday present from his dad after he'd seen how badly off James' older broom was, especially after last year's championship match. A stray Bludger had taken off a quarter of the shaft and was no longer safe to fly. James had been thrilled with the present because the Nimbus One Hundred was the latest version in the line.
He inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of dewy grass, and the slightly fresher than normal smell of the locker room he'd just left. Alyssa and Matt Rabb came up behind him. "Great turn-out," Matt said looking impressed at the crowd on the field waiting for them. He was the spitting image of his brother—just a few years younger and not as filled out—with shortly cropped dirty blonde hair, the same sapphire eyes that all four Rabb children had, and the same charming smile, but he would probably surpass his brother in height. He'd inherited some of the same powers Andy and Rachel had but his were more of a mix than anything else. He was able to orb and apportate like Andy, but he could also freeze things like Rachel. As a child, he'd been extremely jealous of the twins who'd each inherited all of one parent's powers. Once he saw how much of a struggle it was for them to control and strengthen them, he was glad that'd he'd inherited so few. Once he came to that realization, he forgot his jealousy, and began helping the twins with their powers, and in return they helped him with his.
"Definitely," Alyssa agreed. She and James weren't exactly friends, but they were teammates, and very early on had come to a common understanding. When it came to the game they would work together. And they did tirelessly after they'd been given the two opening Chaser positions back in their second year. The Chasers practiced and worked very hard on becoming aware of where the other two were at all times, as well as their moves. They perfected their techniques and tactics so that during matches it was as though they were reading each other's minds. So that if Alyssa had the ball and was being attacked from the front she knew she could toss the ball backward and one of her teammates would be there to catch it. But Michael Gibbons had graduated at the end of last year and now they had to find someone who had exceptional flying skills, as well as scoring skills, and moved as fluidly with them as the now graduate had.
"Same drills as last year then?" Matt asked. He'd been Keeping for the Gryffindor Team since his fourth year and remembered try-outs from the previous year.
James nodded, "Yeah, and really give it to them. I really want to see what kind of skills they have so that we build a strong team," he looked over at Alyssa, "I want one more cup under our belt before we graduate."
Alyssa nodded and the three started toward the group of Gryffindor students waiting to try out.
James cleared his throat and waited a moment for quiet. "Before we get started I want to thank you all for coming out. We're looking for a strong team this year so we can wipe the floor with the Slytherins," he grinned for a moment and then became serious again, "So, I want you to give it your all and show us what you've got." He looked around at the group and noticed that it was a real mix of years, boys and girls. "If you're trying out for the third Chaser position follow Alyssa." He paused as a good third of the group followed the brunette with lime green highlights. "If you're trying out for the Beater positions line up with Matt," Matt waved the group trying out for Beater over to another spot on the field. "And if you're trying out for Seeker line up in font of me here."
The tryouts began with the Chasers. James kicked off from the ground and soared into the air with everyone trying out for Chaser. The wind hit his face and lifted his hair and he smiled. He loved flying; it was his only way to escape from everything going on in the world around him. He focused his attention on the people in front of him and asked them for a lap around the pitch. "This is to show us how well you can fly and what tricks you can pull correctly and safely, if any.
This part of the try-outs always seemed to eliminate many students and it was no different this year. James knew that many students came to try-outs because Quidditch was the thing to do and in actuality couldn't fly if their life depended on it. The second part of the try-out was scoring accuracy, aim, and ability to hurl the Quaffle through one of the hoops without falling off their broom. This again eliminated several people who although were decent flyers had aim like Peter, horrible. The third and final part of the Chaser try-out was executing stunts with James and Alyssa and the Quaffle with the Bludgers flying about trying to knock them off their brooms.
After the Chasers, everyone trying out for the Beater positions were let into the air. This was probably the bloodiest try-out because some people just didn't know what to do when a Bludger came at them, nonetheless know how to use the Beater club. A fourth year girl with her dirty blonde hair pulled back in a long ponytail was so nervous that she dropped her Beater club, screamed, and covered her head with her arms when a Bludger sped right by her ear. A third year boy seemingly forgot to hang onto his bat after hitting the Bludger, and a fifth year boy got the bat in the face, no doubt breaking his nose. James smacked the heel of his hand against his forehead every time a mistake like this occurred. He was quite pleased however, by two brothers Brian and Adam Anderson. They weren't twins, in fact Brian was two years younger, but they flew extremely well together, showed real strength, and very good aim.
The final try-out for the Seekers was the hardest one of all. Most Seekers were known for thin and flexible builds. This was so they could weave in and out of the other players quickly and easily in pursuit of the Snitch. They were probably the most important player in Quidditch. If they caught the Golden Snitch their team would be awarded one hundred and fifty points and win the match.
James landed on the ground beside Alyssa and Matt as they watched the last few students gather their belongings and head back up to the castle. "So, what do you think?" James asked. He always made sure to get his teammates' opinions for new team appointments and not just leave it up to himself. They were a team after all.
"I think the Sanderson brothers are shoe-ins for Beaters," Alyssa said wiping the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead.
Matt nodded, "Definitely and I'm not just saying that because Adam is one of my best mates. He and Brian are strong and have really good aim," he added indicating his leg where a bruise was forming from a Bludger by Brian. Brian had apologized profusely, but Matt only grinned and said, "Good one."
"I agree. Okay, so we have our Beaters. What about Seeker? I think Christina Johansson was the best out there. She's tiny, has sharp eyes, and she had no problems flying around us," James said.
"Yes," Alyssa agreed, "She was very good. She caught the Snitch eleven out of the twelve tries and she's got the flying ability. She's just so tiny. I'm afraid Crabbe and Devon might flatten her," she said mentioning the bulky Slytherin Beaters.
"She may be tiny but she's very quick and strong. I bet she could pull up and out of the way before getting squished. Crabbe and Devon are so large and stupid they'll crash into each other before they get her," James reasoned with a chuckle, "And you said so yourself that she caught the Snitch eleven out of twelve times. She has the ability and I think after a few practices with the team she'll be golden." Alyssa agreed.
"What about Chaser?" Matt asked looking between James and Alyssa after also agreeing to Christina's appointment to the team. "I thought Jonathon was looking pretty good. He faked me out a fair few times."
"Agreed. You're one hell of a Keeper Matt but he has some arm on him," James said grinning at him.
The other two laughed, "He's quick thinking as well. We need that," Alyssa added, "I think we get a couple of hard practices in with him and he'll be flying with us like Mike did."
James picked up the crate of balls and shouldered his broom, "Well then, we have ourselves a team."
The next two weeks were murder for the seventh years. Their classes increased in difficulty, and their homework load seemed to double in amount, and took them three times as long to complete. Then there was Quidditch for those students on their house teams. Field time became increasingly difficult to get and James was glad he'd talked to McGonagall early on about booking times for Gryffindor to practice. There was also patrolling to be carried out by the Head Boy and Girl and Prefects nightly.
All in all the seventh years weren't the only ones stressing. It seemed that everyone in fourth year and above was extremely edgy and snapped at younger students for the smallest things like crumpling parchement. On top of that, the notice for the second task in Challenge appeared on all house bulletin boards and the date for the task wasn't far off.
Rachel was sick of studying. She was sick of writing, of reading, of the crick in her neck from looking down at her books for long periods of time, of the ink stain that seemed to never leave her fingers from using her quill, and she was sick of all the stress. She wasn't sleeping well because of it. She, like many of the seventh years, had started coming to class with dark circles under their eyes and looking very pale. What she needed was a night away from it all. A night off where she could just let go, and the only way she knew how to do that, was dance.
"Lily!" she said suddenly, so suddenly that Lily nearly toppled off her bed in surprise. The Marauders were in the Heads common room, and the Gryffindor common room was far too noisy and crowded that Friday night, so the two girls retreated to the dormitory for some quiet.
"What?" Lily asked closing the book she'd been reading and looking up at her friend and noticed a familiar gleam. "What?" she asked again, but this time she asked it suspiciously.
"Aren't you sick of all this studying and writing and such?"
Lily continued to look at her friend suspiciously. She was all too familiar with that gleam in Rachel's eye and knew that whenever it appeared, she was in a break-the-rules sort of mood. "Yes," Lily replied slowly and knew instantly that was the wrong thing to say.
"Well I for one am very sick of it. I think that after all our hard work these past two weeks we deserve to do something fun."
Lily gazed at her for a moment thinking that it wasn't a bad idea. "So, did you want to conjure up some brownies and dig out all our girly magazines or something? Madame Pomfrey probably won't let Izzy out of the hospital wing tonight. She's insisting that she needs a night of peace and quiet. And Alyssa is off doing something—you'd rather not think about with Andy."
Rachel frowned, wrinkling her nose. She shook the comment about her brother and best friend from her head. "No. When I say fun, I mean something wild."
Lily finally got what Rachel was hinting at. "No!" she said defiantly, "No! No way! You got me to do it once! I'm not doing it again! We broke about ten school rules, not to mention we were underage!"
"Oh, come on Lily!" Rachel countered pleadingly, "Like you said we did it before and we were careful weren't we? No one found out about it and this time we're not underage—well I'm not and you're close enough!" Rachel pointed out, but Lily continued to look defiant. "Please, Lily, please. I think it would do us a world of good to just get out and let loose for a night. And what better way to do it then dancing?" She clasped her hands beneath her chin and looked at Lily with big puppy dog eyes, "Please?"
Lily tried to resist, tried to voice that it was wrong, but couldn't. She needed the night off just as much as Rachel did. "Okay," Lily relented with a sigh.
"Yes!" Rachel squealed launching herself at her friend and hugging her tightly, "Thank you!"
"Yeah, yeah," Lily muttered as Rachel dragged her off the bed in search of something to wear.
-
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Lily hissed as they dodged patches of silvery moonlight and hid in the shadows, "Again!"
"Shh!" Rachel hushed gripping Lily's hand as they passed the Forbidden Forest, the twigs snapping beneath their shoes. Getting out of the castle had been no problem. They'd worn their school robes over their clothes so that teachers thought they were patrolling if they came upon them. They hadn't met a soul however, and they easily slipped out of the castle, banishing their robes with a simple wave of their wands.
They emerged, minutes later, on the familiar cobblestone street that ran all through the village of Hogsmeade. "See?" Rachel said dropping Lily's hand and looking at the redhead, "No harm done," she said, pulling a leaf from her wavy hair.
"I suppose," Lily said looking around and shivering. "I should have brought my cloak." The dark green halter and tight jeans, although looked incredible on her, wasn't exactly the warmest outfit.
Rachel rolled her eyes and linked her arm through Lily's as they started to walk down the street, "Cloaks are as sexy as McGonagall's dressing gown." Lily giggled and Rachel grinned, nudging her hip into Lily's, "You're having fun already. Admit it."
Lily laughed, "Alright! Yes, I'm having fun! I'm glad you dragged me out tonight."
Rachel smiled looking very pleased with herself, "Now come on the sooner we get to the club, the sooner we can warm up on the dance floor. I'm freezing!" She added looking down at the very short mini jean skirt she wore, paired with black leather knee high boots, and a black long sleeve sweater that slid off one shoulder.
They picked up their pace a little and soon came to the club already packed with witches and wizards looking to unwind. The name Illusion glittered off the other shop windows changing colors every few seconds. They walked up to the two burly wizards standing on either side of the door and showed them their Apparition licenses, which also served as identification cards in the wizarding world. The two burly security wizards let them pass and the two girls entered the club.
The air was heavy and sticky, smelling of booze, sweat, and sex. The music blared loudly shutting out any noise from the outside and making their very bones vibrate. Lights flashed continually around the room blinding them momentarily until their eyes adjusted to it. A long bar was on one wall where several bartenders where busily making drinks for customers and along another wall were high tables and chairs. The dance floor was packed with witches and wizards, dancing and grinding together to the rhythm of the music.
Lily and Rachel looked around slowly taking in their surroundings. "We're young. We're fine. Let's do some damage." Rachel said with a sexy grin and Lily giggled.
"Man it feels good to be outta there!" Sirius exclaimed as James pulled the Invisibility Cloak off them. "All that tension and stress made me want to go crawl in a hole or something!"
James rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it." He laughed, "I think after these past two weeks we need a night off to unwind." He said, pointing his wand at the cloak, and shrinking it so he could stuff it in his jeans pocket.
"And what better way to do it than tossing back some good old fashioned Fire Whiskey and dancing with beautiful ladies?" Sirius added with a twinkle in his eyes.
James grinned wolfishly, "Right." His smile faltered, "It'd be better if it was one particular lady."
Sirius nodded, "I know mate." He wished he were going to meet a particular brunette, but that was as likely as him sharing the U-bend with Moaning Myrtle.
James snapped out of his reverie and mentally shook himself, "What are we doing? We promised not to think about them tonight. That we were going to go and have fun with girls who's names we won't remember in the morning because we'll be drunk out of our minds."
Sirius grinned, "Right."
They approached the club Illusion and showed the two security wizards outside their Apparition licenses. They entered the club and let their eyes scan the room. "I'm seeing a lot of potential Prongs," he said smiling at a group of girls who smiled back just as flirtatiously. A pair of long tanned legs, partly obscured by the leather boots that came up to her knee, caught his eye. Before he could get a look at the rest of her, she disappeared into the crowd.
"Me too," James replied flashing a sexy grin at a curvy brunette who deliberately pressed against him when she passed.
They headed over to the bar and James flagged down a bar tender and ordered two shots of Fire Whiskey, "First one's on me," James said sliding several sickles onto the counter in exchange for the two shot glasses, "You get second," he added handing Sirius one of the glasses.
Sirius grinned; "Cheers!" he said, clinking his glass against James'. He brought the glass up to his lips and tossed the shot down his throat, swallowing before the liquid could touch his tongue. The minute he put his glass down he signaled a bartender for another round and this time he paid before they tossed back the shots.
"Hi there," a seductive voice purred in Sirius' ear. He turned around and found himself pressed flush against a very pretty girl with wavy blonde hair.
He leaned his elbows back on the bar and gave the blonde an incredibly sexy smile. "Hi."
"Do you wanna dance?" she asked tossing her head back at the dance floor.
"Well, that depends," Sirius said straightening up and moving closer to her, "A pretty girl like you must have a name?"
She smirked, "Mindy."
Sirius flashed her another sexy smile letting his eyes do a little wandering, "Sirius," he said looking back up at her face, "and I would love to dance." She took his hand and Sirius looked back at James to find him flirting with the curvy brunette. He grinned shaking his head and turned his attention back to the blonde.
It seemed as though it took a little persuasion on the brunette's part to get James out on the dance floor. It wasn't that James couldn't dance or didn't like to, he was just enjoying the feel of the brunette pressing herself against him, successfully pushing all thoughts of Lily to the back of his head.
"I'll get us some drinks!" Rachel practically had to shout in Lily's ear to be heard over the music.
"I'll go find us a table!" Lily said pointing at the corner where high tables and chairs were in case Rachel had trouble hearing her. Rachel nodded and disappeared into the crowd heading for the bar. Lily turned and started for the tables sidestepping grinding couples. She jumped back in surprise when of those couples, engaged in a rather heavy snog, fell into her path. She laughed to herself and moved around them.
She found an empty table quickly and sat down watching the couples on the dance floor. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into a very handsome face. He was tall but not overly so with very broad shoulders. His nose was kind of long and looked like it had been broken more than once, and he had longish gold curls that fell into his baby blue eyes. "I didn't mean to startle you," he said with an apologetic smile, "I just—I saw you from across the room and I just had to meet you."
"How many times have you used that line?" she smirked.
He grinned, obviously not deterred by her comment, "Once."
"And did it work?"
"I don't know. You tell me," he said with a hopeful look in his eye. Lily laughed and indicated the seat next to her. He smiled and sat down, "I'm Rich," he said holding his hand out for her to shake.
She shook it, "Lily."
"Well, Lily, can I buy you a drink?"
"My friend is actually getting me one," she saw his smile falter and added, "But next one can be on you if the offer still stands."
His smile widened, "Absolutely."
-
Rachel finally managed to squeeze through the crowd of people and motioned to a bartender. He nodded once and set about finishing his previous order before coming to get hers. She was just about to place it when a man pushed through the crowd rather aggressively, "Beer and a Fire Whiskey."
The bartender raised an eyebrow at him, "Sorry, sir, but the lady was here before you."
The dark haired man whipped around and came face to face with Rachel, "Oh, sorry. Your probably think I'm a right ass."
Rachel smirked, "I was heading into that mindset, yes."
He grinned, she was fiery this one. "Well, can I buy you a drink to make up for my rude behavior?"
"If you must, but I was planning on ordering double." He raised his eyebrows at her, "My friend went to find us a table."
His brown eyes glittered, "Well, maybe I can buy you and your friend a drink and make up some of the points I no doubt just lost."
Rachel smirked again, "You could. I'm Rachel," she added extending her hand.
"Jon," he replied, shaking her hand. He turned to the bartender, "A beer and a Fire Whiskey for me and…" he looked at Rachel.
"Two more of each," said Rachel nodding once at the bartender.
The bartender set about making their drinks and Jon took the opportunity to give Rachel the once over. Judging from the smile on his face he liked what he saw. "I'm not buying a drink for a bloke I am?"
"If I was here with a bloke would I still be standing here?" she quipped.
Jon laughed, "No, I suppose not." The bartender set their drinks on the counter before them and Jon handed him a handful of coins. He took the beers and she grabbed the Fire Whiskey, "For the record. I'm glad you're not here with another bloke." He said in her ear as she led him in the direction Lily went.
She looked up at him, "Me too."
The music blared. The lights flashed. Thin colorful tubes of Veela Vodka were tossed back on top of shots of Fire Whiskey. Hips moved, gyrated, and pressed to the beat of the base. Rachel squealed when Jon dribbled a bit of his Fire Whiskey onto her exposed shoulder, making her skin tingle and burn. He lowered his lips and sucked the amber liquid right off her skin, not stopping until he knew his mark had been made. She didn't seem to mind his lips on her neck or his hands on her ass; she was far too drunk to care anyway.
Lily wasn't much better as Rich bought her yet another colorful tube of Veela Vodka and tossed it back like it was water. "This is so weird," she said looking at the translucent pink tube in her hand, "This is like my fourth one of these and I don't feel a thing!" She giggled and tossed the tube over her shoulder not really caring where it landed.
"Really?" Rich asked raising his eyebrows. She was very drunk. Her eyes were reddening a bit and her cheeks were flushed—although that could have been from dancing too—and her speech was beginning to slur. He wasn't going to tell her to stop, it was her choice to get drunk, and it was his choice to pull her closer and press his lips to hers hungrily.
-
James grinned into the brunette's neck as she pressed even harder against him. He was having fun, but the night was about letting loose with alcohol and dance, not sex. He'd danced with many girls, but even through the haze the alcohol was creating, he knew it would go no further. Sirius seemed to be faced with a similar dilemma as the blonde alternated between whispering in his ear and nibbling on it, but every time Sirius shake his head no and the blonde would pout.
The song ended and the brunette looked up at James, "I'm going to run to the loo—" her sentence was left hanging and James knew why, but he only winked in response. She disappeared into the crowd and James made his way back to the bar.
Sirius joined him a couple minutes later and clapped James on the shoulder. James looked up, "Where's Mindy? She looked like she wanted to jump your bones on the middle of the dance floor."
Sirius laughed, "The loo with a couple girls she came with."
"They like to do that in groups don't they?" James said with a laugh as Sirius ordered them another round of Fire Whiskey. He handed one shot glass to James and kept one for himself, "How many are we on?" James asked before tossing back the shot.
Sirius swallowed, "I don't know. I lost count," he said looking out at the crowd. What he saw nearly made him choke and he almost missed the bar when putting his glass down.
"What?" James asked narrowing his eyes at the strange look on Sirius' face. He followed Sirius' gaze and saw what had stopped him in his tracks. "Is that—" he left the question hanging.
Lily was pressed against the taller blonde with her arms up around his neck and playing with his hair. The blonde's hands gripped her hips moving them against his, occasionally sliding his hands up her sides or squeezing her ass. "Lily," Sirius paused when he saw Rachel and the dark haired bloke. The dark haired man's hands were sliding up under her shirt across her back and then down over her ass pressing her harder against him. Sirius' jaw all but hit the floor when he saw Rachel press her lips to the other mans. "Rachel," he growled. He couldn't believe what she was doing. She was drunk, there was no mistaking that, and seemed completely oblivious to the bloke's intentions, whose tongue was down her throat.
James was at a complete loss for words. He had never seen Lily let go and lose control like that. He knew she was drunk and knew that had the blonde let go of her, she probably would have fallen flat on her face. What disturbed him more was the hungry look in the blonde's eyes. He'd seen that look before. It was as though he were biding his time until Lily was so drunk she could barely see straight and convince her to come home with him. James squeezed his hand around his shot glass so hard his knuckles turned white.
-
Jon grinned to himself when Rachel finally pulled her lips from his. He looked down into her face and knew that he couldn't hold out much longer to find out what else she was good at besides snogging. "You're looking a little flushed," he told her. "Maybe we should take a break and get a drink."
Rachel smiled, "That'd be great." She let him take her by the hand in the direction to what she thought was the bar. Her mind was too hazy from the alcohol to notice he was leading her to the hallway where the bathrooms were.
-
"Fuck," Sirius swore to himself but James heard him.
Wrenching his gaze from Lily and the blonde he looked at Sirius, "What?" he asked.
"She's leaving with him!" Sirius said angrily, "I can't believe she's actually following him!"
James saw Rachel and the taller man disappear down the hall, "She's drunk, Padfoot." He looked back at Lily and saw that the blonde was now talking to her. "I'm going after Lily that guy looks like he's ready to rip her clothes off and—," he stopped and shook his head. He didn't want to think about that.
Sirius nodded, "I'm going after Rachel."
The two friends split up, James heading back onto the dance floor and Sirius heading for the loo.
-
The lights were no longer burning her eyes and the air was far cooler than it had been on the dance floor. "This isn't the bar," she said and a small giggle escaped her lips when Jon spun around to face her. He didn't waste time in pressing his lips hungrily to hers and she gasped when her back hit the cool wall. His tongue explored her mouth aggressively as his hands ran all over her body. She felt his hand sliding up beneath her shirt and tiny alarm bells started going off somewhere in the back of her head. "No," she said trying to sound firm and pulling his hand out from under her shirt.
"Relax," he hissed in her ear before pressing his lips to her throat. He began sliding his hand up under her skirt.
"No," she said again, slapping his hand away.
"I told you to relax," he growled and Rachel's eyes snapped open. He slipped his hand beneath her skirt again and slid it up her thigh quickly.
She grabbed his wrist in a surprisingly tight grasp for the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, "And I told you no," she said firmly, pushing him away.
He shoved her back into the wall and pressed his lower body against hers and she swallowed when she felt his obvious arousal against her thigh. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he growled angrily. She struggled against him when she felt his hand brush against the silk waistband of her knickers. His other hand slid up her shirt again, "You were all over me on the dance floor. What happened? I thought you'd like a little privacy." He said and pressed his lips against hers roughly and thrust his tongue past her lips. She bit down hard. He pulled away from her, "Bitch!" he spat.
Rachel used this to her advantage and tried to get away from him, but her vision was beginning to swim. She felt his hand grab her wrist and he slammed her into the wall again and pressed his arm against her throat tightly. He pinned her to the wall with his body, "You just made this very difficult on yourself," he snarled. She started to pull her leg up and he caught it with one hand forcing it down with an incredible amount of strength, "Nice try. I knew you were fiery, that's why I liked you in the first place."
"Get off of me," she said trying to sound firm but failing miserably. She closed her eyes again willing the dizziness to stop.
"You look like you're a screamer," he said huskily looking at her with lust filled eyes as he shoved his hand up under her shirt again.
"Stop," she mumbled struggling again, "Leave me alone." He didn't. Her pleas and attempts to get away from him seemed to only fuel his motives.
Sirius rounded the corner, saw the scene before him, heard Rachel's pleas for him to leave her alone, and acted. He grabbed the bloke by the back of his shirt spun him around and slammed him against the opposite wall. "I believe she asked you to stop," snarled Sirius.
Rachel forced her eyes open and blurrily saw a man pinning Jon to the opposite wall. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Jon yelled furiously.
"What the fuck do you think you were doing?" said Sirius viciously, "She asked you to stop and leave her alone and from where I was standing it didn't look like you were heeding her requests!"
Jon narrowed his eyes dangerously, "This isn't about you!"
Sirius glared menacingly at him tightening his hold, "It is now." He looked over his shoulder, "Rachel, get out of here."
Jon took the opportunity and slammed his fist into Sirius' stomach. Sirius doubled up, momentarily letting go of Jon. Jon went to get around him but Sirius grabbed his arm and threw a punch. His fist connected with Jon's jaw and his face snapped to the side from the impact. Sirius slammed him against the wall again and Jon looked a little afraid. "Look," Jon said shakily, "We were just having fun. You're a good-looking bloke. You know how it is."
"Enlighten me," Sirius growled pressing his arm tighter against Jon's throat.
"Look at her! She—she's hot what man wouldn't want to shag that!" he exclaimed pointing at Rachel. He knew that was the wrong thing to say a second after Sirius punched him again. He'd no doubt have a shiner by morning.
"She is not a trophy you can go home and brag to your buddies about! She's a person and you—you disgust me!" Sirius said finally letting him go.
Jon stumbled backward and glared at Sirius, his eyes flashing. Sirius ignored him and turned to look at Rachel who looked very white. He took a step closer to her, "Are you okay?" he asked, his tone much softer.
She started to nod as Jon approached Sirius from behind and her eyes widened. Sirius saw the change and spun around. Completely caught off guard Sirius didn't have time to duck as Jon's fist connected with Sirius' jaw and mouth, successfully splitting his lower lip. A small scream escaped Rachel's lips, but the music was so loud that no one heard her. Sirius growled and threw another punch at Jon's face this time successfully knocking him out and straight to the floor.
He pressed his thumb to his lip and winced. He turned back to Rachel and forgot all about his lip, "Are you okay?" he asked again, finally walking over to her. She nodded quietly. "Okay, come on, let's get out of here." Sirius said and Rachel pushed off the wall. Her vision swam and she stumbled, reaching out for the wall. She felt Sirius' arm wrap around her protectively, "Lean on me. It's okay. Come on," he said soothingly and she did just that as he led her out the back door.
-
James pushed his way through the crowd and finally got close enough to Lily and the blonde to hear what was going on. Lily's hand was pressed to her sweaty forehead now and she looked a bit green.
Rich noticed that she wasn't moving as much and looked down at her, "Are you okay?" he asked trying to sound concerned.
Lily shook her head, "I don't think so. I—I think I need to sit down." She blinked and the room spun violently and she reached out for Rich.
"Maybe we should get you outside for some fresh air," Rich said his eyes gleaming. Lily nodded and allowed Rich to wrap his arm around her—not noticing that his hand happened to be on her ass—and lead her away from the crowd.
James knew it was time to intervene and stepped in front of them. "James!" Lily jumped in surprise when she saw him and instantly regretted the move as a wave of nausea passed over her.
Rich's eyes narrowed. He looked from James to Lily and back again. "Who're you?" he asked bluntly.
James ignored him and looked at Lily concernedly, "I think we should get you back, huh?"
Rich let go of Lily and pushed ahead of her knocking Lily off her feet. "Who the fuck are you? Her boyfriend?"
A muscle in James' jaw twitched. "No, but I have her best intentions in mind. Unlike you."
"And how do you know what my intentions are?" Rich yelled getting in James' face.
James looked him square in the eye, "You were getting ready to take her out of here and then lure her back to your place. Ring any bells?"
"Why you…"
James glared, "Do you really think it wise to finish that statement?"
Rich's lip curled and he knelt down to help Lily to her feet, "Come on, Lily. Let's go." James stepped into their path again. "Get the fuck out of my way before you pay dearly."
James rolled his eyes obviously not impressed. "No," he said simply and looked at the redhead beside him again, "Do you want me to take you back Lily?"
Lily nodded looking at him a little cross-eyed, "Yesh," she mumbled, the word slurring when it left her lips, and she moved away from Rich a bit.
James tried not to grin at the shocked look on Rich's face. "She—she doesn't know what she's saying."
"That's because you got her drunk out of her fucking mind," James snarled. Rich moved to push past James again and James shoved him back. "Let her go."
Rich growled and swung. James easily ducked his blow and returned it with one of his own getting Rich right in the eye. Rich stumbled backward into a bunch of blokes who took it as Rich trying to cause trouble and more punches were thrown. James walked quickly over to Lily, "Come on, let's go," he said wrapping his arm around her and leading her out of the bar.
-
Rachel stumbled blindly and Sirius' arm tightened around her, but she crashed into him unsteadily. Not quite prepared for her sudden weight shift Sirius stumbled backward and his back hit the trunk of a tree with Rachel pressed against him. He swallowed hard and looked down as she looked up at him, "Sorry," she mumbled.
"It's okay," he whispered. She tried to push back from him but stumbled over a tree root and he caught her before she fell.
"Padfoot!" James yelled.
Sirius wrapped his arm around Rachel's waist tightly and walked them both out onto the cobblestone street again. "Yeah!" Sirius called back wincing when Rachel trod on his foot. "Over here!"
James appeared a few minutes later with a redhead clinging to him like a life support. She was mumbling incoherently against his chest and James was trying his best to keep her upright, but she wasn't helping any by dragging her feet. James exhaled, "Now what? Getting back to the school won't be a problem but—"
"Getting to Gryffindor tower will be," Sirius finished running his hand through his hair.
"Well, we can make it a little easier on ourselves. We'll take them to the Heads dorms that way we can nix a couple main halls and stairwells," James said, "You have the map?"
Sirius nodded, "In my pocket."
Rachel snorted, "You need a map to get us back to Gryffindor tower?" she asked looking up at them, "Now that's reassuring."
Sorry! I know it's kind of a cliffhanger! But Saturday is just around the corner and chapter 6 will pick up right where this one left off! Remember if you read I'd love it if you left a review! I borrowed a line or two from a movie and a TV show. So, I give the writers of both the credit for them! Next chapter will be up on Saturday with some L/J and S/R friendly fluff. Thanks guys!